The Cyborg Prometheus (Bright-Davies)
Introduction Life is a process in which everything is refashioned in an attempt to create something even better, more efficient and durable. Take religion as an example of this process of refashioning, for centuries it was the epicenter of human morality, conscious and intellect. Its laws were based on what some call sacred tenements handed down from the Gods and later God. As society’s evolved so too did man’s rational and ways of thinking. Our species transformed into one which valued property, wealth and power. From this moment we begin to witness the clash between religion and what would later come to be known as governments. As time passed, so too did role of religion. Our weal was no longer in the hands of the church, temple or mosque; it now resides in the great halls of Parliaments and Congress’. Our epicenters of social morality became our Courts, governments became the new faces of church and for a while a battle between these two forces soured our existence, until the greater of the two took its rightful place. So in essence governments are refashioning’s of religion. Science too, fought with religion, it gave us reason and the scientific method, and it enlightened our perception of the world and beyond. It told and proved to us that the earth is not the center of the universe. It encouraged us to question our world, to become curious to the point where we ourselves would become master of the world. But with science comes dangers, and this sought of danger is what Mary Shelley tries to warn us off and she is able to do this via her novel ''Frankenstein'', story in which the search of scientific knowledge leads one to delve into realms unfit for human consumption. Victor Frankenstein a young man, who after the death of his mother decides to study science in order to eradicate diseases from the human form, ends up redirecting his attention to discovering the secrets of life, enquiring into the realm of nature. Once he has unlocked the secret he was able to create a being which he later abandons due to its repugnance. This is what Shelley calls the Promethean quester, man’s attempt at finding ways of improving human existence that results in tragedy. This brings me to Literature in a wired World, an English course which for the most part aims at dissecting the themes of refashioning, the Promethean quester complex and question of what it means to be “human”, on a literate sense. We are able to do this by studying and tracing the progression and history of literature throughout our existence, from pictographs to alphabets, from orality to script, and then from script to its electronic form. Through this process we are able to apply Shelley’s Promethean Ideology and question of what it is to be human, to the process of refashioning thereby allowing us to draw parallels or relate it to life. If you look at it from a metaphorical standpoint, electronic literature is the “monster”; it has crossed the boundaries of traditional linear literature and has refashioned itself into this non-linear lawless bandit, where anything is possible, if it is not controlled. In keeping with the electronic form and technological advancement, brings me to I, Robot, a film based off the short stories by the Patriarch of science fiction and robotics, Isaac Asimov. Who inherits the torch of warning from Shelley and adapts it to 21st century. By refashioning both themes and forms, from Shelley’s Frankenstein, I, Robot is able to project these Promethean Ideology and the question of humanity, in a way that enlightens the viewer as to the dangers of our dependence on scientific knowledge, technology and sometimes immorality that are detriment to our future and the future of our posterity, if we cease to regulate its rapid rate of manifestation. I, Robot a Brief Biography Following a period of unsuccessful marketing at Disney, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Vintar Jeff Vintar] screenplay Hardwired was later picked up by the director of'' I Am Legend'' and ''A Beautiful Mind'', [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akiva_Goldsman Akiva Goldman]. Vintar’s screenplay was “a cerebral murder mystery that read like a stage paly and representatives of the Asimov estate considered the script “more Asimov than Asimov”” "Jeff Vintar". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Vintar. The name of the screen play was later changed to I, Robot after the short-story collection of the same name, written by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov Isaac Asimov]. The movie which was directed by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Proyas Alex Proyas] kept the murder mystery plot to the screen play, was released in 2004, starring [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith Will Smith] as a Chicago Police Department detective grossed $350 million worldwide. Refashioning Theme In [http://www.egs.edu/library/Mary_Shelley/biography-wikipedia Mary Shelley’s] ''Frankenstein'' the reader is introduced to the theme of the Promethean quester where mankind strives to improve human life and existence by delving into the realm of nature, whereby he encapsulates the “God” persona and creates this “nonhuman” being without thinking of the possible unintended consequences. Shelley also raises some fundamental questions as to the legitimacy of humanity, once something artificial or mechanical is created in our image to act independently of its on cognition comes to fruition. By asking this question, she forces the reader to delve deep down into their inner being to try to answer this question. The history behind Shelley’s fascination with the Promethean quester complex can be traced back to the Greek mythology [http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanPrometheus.html Prometheus] who is according to [http://www.Imagi-nation.com/moonstruck/Clsc3.htm Aeschylus] give mankind “the physical fire in the fennel stalk, but also the subtler fire of reason and wisdom from which all aspects of human civilization are derived: divination, astrology, medicine, mathematics, the alphabet, agriculture- every science and art” "Olga Raggio". http://jstor.org/stable/750486 for its progression. He was later punished to eternal agony by the head of the Greek God’s [http://pantheon.org/articles/z/zeus.html Zeus]. In her book, Shelley uses Victor Frankenstein as the modern day Prometheus, this young intelligent teenager who after the death of his mother, becomes interested in the eradication of diseases from the human form, later changes the purpose of his being to one who delves deeper into secrets of nature by investigating the causes of life. He spends his entire time in vaults and charnel houses studying the process of decay in order to create life, after discovering the secrets to life, he in effect becomes “God” the creator and creates life in the form of man which he later labels a monster, to the overstepping of natural boundaries. It was only after the creation of the creature did Victor really begins to think about the unintended consequences of his creation, and by abandoning it he self-inflicts the promethean punishment of living in agony. Following the creation and abandonment of the monster, Shelley attempts to rationally present her argument of the difficulties that exist in attempting to define the constitutionality of humanity, by allowing the monster to encapsulate the characteristics of the self-made man, in that he is self-educated, intelligent, emotional, curious all traits of humanity. He has goals, dreams, and a perception of the world that surpasses that of the common man, by intentionally giving these very human traits to the monster, she is able to succeed. The creature thinks like a human, feels sadness, happiness, and so on and so forth, that it narrates its emotions to the reader, which often lives one wondering who really is the real monster, Victor or this very human creature. ''I, Robot'' is the modern day Frankenstein, it refashions the themes of Promethean quester by modernizing it and repositions the question of what it is to be human, by refashioning the idea of humanity from something created of the flesh to something that is mechanically created with human traits. The Promethean figure in thi s story is Dr. Alfred Lanning, the cofounder of a U.S. Robotics company, who dreams of creating the next generation of robots used to help improve everyday human life. In order to accomplish this task, Lanning and members of his company create a super computer called V.I.K.I who is programmed with a plethora of codes and given a wide range of human intelligence and rationale. With the help of this super computer, they are able to create and program these new robots with speed. When it comes to the creation his final robot, Sonny, the Doctor gives him human attributes in turn making him the monster. Realizing that there are hazards in creating both the V.I.K.I as well as all versions of robots, the team programs them with the [http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Laws_of_Robotics three laws of robotics], which V.I.K.I overrides in order for her to accomplish her goals of protecting the world from mankind’s irrational actions and destructive behavior. As a result this idea of the creation becoming better than the creator reminds of a passage from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep%3F “Do Android’s Dream of Electric Sheep?”] where one of the characters makes this statement of “The servant had in some cases become more adroit than its master” (Dick 30) "Dick, Philipp K."Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. New York: ADel Rey Book, 1968. Dr. Lanning purposefully gives Sonny human traits, it dreams, has feelings, shows signs of childlike immaturity whereby it learns both by observation and rationale. His attempts of creating an uncorrupted and independent robot, capable of working side by side with Detective Spooner, played by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith Will Smith] who “ harbors a strong distaste for robots and the advancement of technology” "I,Robot". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Robot_%28film%29 due to an irrational error in judgment made by a robot, to save humanity portrays this idea of returning society back to grace. As a way of exploiting the act of performing capital punishment on this robot, the actors and the director forces the audience to empathize with the robot and question their beliefs of capital punishment as Sonny is strapped to the bed. This was expertly conducted, when Sonny asks the doctor the type of serum that would be used and whether or not it would be painful. There is a moment in this scene where it tells the doctor that it doesn’t want to die, which for me resonates a very human feeling of fear of death and the want for survival. This scene really questioned the core of humanity, because I actually felt for this machine, and it reminded me of Rousseau who once said that all animals feel compassion when they witness another that is about to perish, or in pain. Seeing this robot in this very human predicament, of being put to death ignited in me all the anger that I have towards the capital punishment. This idea of fearing death and the ability for ones creation to have the ability to communicate and use rationality in such a human way, resembles a moment where the monster in ''Frankenstein'' expresses his feelings and frustration of knowledge and life by saying “Of what a strange nature is knowledge! It clings to the mind when it has once seized on it, like a lichen on the rock. I wished sometimes to shake off all thought and feeling; but I learned that there was but one means to overcome the sensation of pain, and that was death – a state which I feared yet did not understand” (Shelly 96-97) "Shelley, Mary". Frankenstein. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009.87 Refashioning Form From its transformation from book format to the big screen, Frankenstein has remained in horror genre for much of the early 20th century. It wasn’t until the mid to late 1970s did we begin to witness a change in genre from horror to comedy, with the release of films such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Frankenstein Young Frankenstein] and '' '' ''[http://www.rockyhorror.com/ The Rocky Horror Picture Show]''''''.''' The idea of creation and the promethean quester resonated to Asimov, who admired the space race and the launching of [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blsatellite.htm Sputnik 1] did this idea of science fiction really come to light. When I say [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction science-fiction] I mean “genre of fiction with imaginative but more or less plausible content such as settings in the future, futuristic science and technology, space travel, parallel universes, aliens, and paranormal abilities. Exploring the consequences of scientific innovations is one purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas". Science fiction has been used by authors as a device to discuss philosophical ideas such as identity, desire, morality and social structure” "Science Fiction". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Fiction. In 1950, Asimov who admitted to have been influenced by Shelley, wrote in his notes “in one of his biographical pieces that he was largely inspired by the almost relentless tendency of robots up to that time to fall consistently into a Frankenstein plot in which they destroyed their creator” "Isaac Asimov". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov released his short story I, Robot. Not only did Frankenstein influence Asimov, we also begin to witness emergence of Frankenstein related science fiction literature, such as “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” published in 1968. The release of the [http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/05/20/ign-presents-the-history-of-terminator Terminator] directed by ''' '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron James Cameron] in 1984, transformed the medium by modernizing it, by using technology to project the science fiction effect. What I, Robot does is that it completely refashions Frankenstein in its entirety by adapting the story to the 21st century, it also prophesizes the plot by making it futuristic. One can agree that we as a society is still in the enfant stage of the technology revolution, we are still in the process of creating human like robots, mac hines which can be used to improve every aspect of our lives, smartphones, electric cars the list goes on. The science fiction genre denotes a sense of credibility to Shelley’s reservations of society’s premature dependence on scientific knowledge, technology and exploration. It does this by invoking this sense of nostalgia for both the past and the future which we have yet to experience. It does this in many ways; first it does a complete makeover of the current skeletal structure of [http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en.html Chicago] by making it futuristic, and second it keeps elements of the past, such as the brick buildings, motorcycles and the''' '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Bridge Lake Michigan Brigde]. This film, tend to place more emphasis on Shelley’s questioning of how do we deal with unintended consequences which may exist from what we have created. But more importantly it places a lot more prominence on this age old question of what constitutes being human. Take for instance the scene where Sonny is to be put to death or simply destroyed, because it violated the three laws of robotics by killing Dr. Lanning. The director in a moment of genius if not skill, imitates the steps taken by both the doctor and individual condemned to death in a capital punishment case, in order to trigger specific emotional human sensors that are in possession of the audience to feel pity and quite frankly question their definition of what is human. You have the CEO of the company acting as the judge or the governor watching via video the process, the audience is the select few chosen to view the execution, as Sonny is strapped to the bed. I think he takes advantage of the emotions by having the robot ask the doctor whether or not the process is painful, and showing the natural human fear of death. If one really devotes time and effort into analyzing this great movie, you begin to realize what Shelley is talking about; you get this sort of clash of the titan’s effect, the old man v the new man in the form of robots. Will Smiths character is a great example, he is part man and machine, Chicago itself is part man and machine. The robot Sonny is the Detective Spooner of the future. Spooner the savior of mankind, and Sonny the savior of robots or humanoid civilization, it’s truly amazing. Remixing “A remix may also refer to a non-linear re-interpretation of a given work or media other than audio. Such as a hybridizing process combining fragments of various works. The process of combining and re-contextualizing will often produce unique results independent of the intentions and vision of the original designer/artist” "Remix". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remix. I, Robot is a remixed movie containing elements from Asimov’s [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Lost_Robot Little Lost Robot] and the three laws of robotics, his fascination with what is known as the Frankenstein complex, and Jeff Vintar’s ''Hardwired'' detective screenplay, inspired by [http://www.agathachristie.com/ Agatha Christie] novels. In order to please the Asimov estate, 20th century Fox, encouraged its directors to try to keep the movie in line with Asimov theme’s and plots. For instance the role of Dr. Lanning was taken from Little Lost Robot, in which the doctor from that short story became a skeptic of the true intentions of these robots. The idea of robots possessing the capability to alter the rules of robotics to cause harm to humans is also aspects drawn from this short story, which were later tweaked and edited in I, Robot. What I, Robot does is it tries to distinguish itself from Asimov while at the same time relating to it. Dr. Lanning is a male rather than a female. Also the creation of V.I.K.I, this super computer, used for security and programing the robots is something new. From here the three laws of robotics was pre-programmed in every version of the robots, apart from the NS-5, which were later altered by V.I.K.I. Furthermore Dr. Lanning creates Sonny as a protagonist to V.I.K.I after realizing that it had gained significant power and that it, not the other robots has an ulterior motive, to dominate humanity. Jeff Vintar’s Hardwired is a remixed version of the Agatha Christie murder mysteries. The difference lies in that Vintar’s uses an FBI agent as his protagonist who is investigating the murder of a scientist. Vintar’s screenplay parallels Asimov’s Little Lost Robot and was created more as a tribute. The directors from I, Robot took the screenplay and changed the name of the characters and certain aspects of the screenplay to make it more marketable to younger audiences and Asimov fans. They changed the FBI agent to a Chicago police department detective; they kept the role and name of Sonny. They basically removed the Hardwired body, kept the structure and updated the body. With regards to the Frankenstein Complex, only significant changes were made, such as the use of robots rather than creating a creature made from human flesh. The characters created to portray Victor, were conscious of their work, and for the most part made significant and ineffective changes to limit the possible dangerous after effect, that could occur from their work. Further Resources [http://www.sunypress.edu/p-3777-remaking-the-frankenstein-myth-.aspx www.sunypress.edu] [http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/jul/29/research.science1 www.theguardian.co.uk] [http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/robotics/2007-05-31-robot-slow-acceptance_N.htm www.usatoday30.usatoday.com] [http://www.jstor.org/ www.jstor.org] [https://www.google.com/ www.google.com] References